Akron Man Charged With Sex Trafficking Of A Minor, Production Of Child Pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged Antonio L. Sibley, 38, of Akron, Ohio with the sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography in an indictment returned in Columbus, Ohio.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, along with members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, including Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Colonel Paul Pride of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the indictment today.

The indictment alleges that on and around July 30 Sibley advertised his victim on internet websites for paid sexual services by posting photos of the minor. The investigation found that Sibley was allegedly harboring the female in a motel in Whitehall, Ohio and had provided her with a cell phone and condoms. The indictment alleges that Sibley coerced his victim to provide sexual services to customers that responded to the online escort ads for commercial sexual activity.

The indictment charges Sibley with sex trafficking of a minor, a crime punishable by a sentence ranging from 15 years to life. He is also charged with production of child pornography, a crime punishable by a sentence ranging from 15 to 30 years.

Sibley was arrested on August 11, 2014, by members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force at the Casa Villa Motel in Whitehall, Ohio, and remains in custody. 

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2012 and is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, also includes authorities from the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Columbus, Division of Police, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Powell Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill is representing the government in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.